Employer requiring annual leave during quiet periods

This is a common question and the answer depends on a combination of what the law says, what your contract says, and how your employer goes about it.

Legal position:

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, an employer does have the legal right to tell a worker when to take their annual leave. Regulation 15 allows an employer to require a worker to take leave on particular dates, provided the employer gives the correct notice. The notice the employer must give is at least twice the length of the leave period they are requiring you to take. So if they want you to take one week off, they must give you at least two weeks' notice.

This is a statutory minimum. Your contract of employment or any applicable collective agreement may set out different or additional rules about how annual leave is scheduled, and if it does, those terms will also apply. Some contracts give employees a free choice of when to take leave, and if yours does, the employer would need to follow that contractual position or vary the contract properly.

Contractual position:

Many contracts include a clause explicitly reserving the employer's right to direct when annual leave is taken, sometimes specifically mentioning quiet periods, shutdowns, or Christmas closures. If your contract contains such a clause, the employer is on firm ground. If the contract is silent, the employer can still fall back on the statutory right under Regulation 15, provided correct notice is given.

Practical considerations:

1. Check your contract of employment and any staff handbook or leave policy carefully. Look for clauses about employer-directed leave, shutdown periods, or compulsory leave.

2. Check whether the correct notice was given. If your employer told you to take a week off but only gave you three days' notice, that would not meet the statutory requirement.

3. Consider whether the employer is being reasonable and consistent. If this is being applied selectively to certain employees and not others, or if it appears to be connected to a protected characteristic such as disability, pregnancy, or part-time status, there may be a discrimination or less favourable treatment issue.

4. If your employer is directing you to take a large proportion of your leave during quiet periods, this could effectively prevent you from taking leave when you actually want it. While the law does not prevent this outright, it is worth raising as a grievance if it leaves you with very little flexibility over your remaining entitlement. The purpose of annual leave under the Working Time Directive is to allow workers genuine rest and recreation, and an approach that entirely removes worker choice could arguably undermine that purpose, though this would be a difficult argument to run in practice.

5. If a significant chunk of your leave is being directed in this way, check that you are still receiving your full statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks per year. The employer cannot reduce your entitlement by requiring you to take unpaid leave or by failing to count directed leave properly.

Summary:

Yes, in most cases your employer can lawfully require you to use annual leave during quiet periods, provided they give proper notice and comply with any relevant contractual terms. The key things to check are the notice given, what your contract says, and whether you are still left with a reasonable amount of leave to use at times of your own choosing. If you feel the approach is unfair or disproportionate, raising it informally first and then through a formal grievance if needed is usually the most sensible route.